Tractor trailer accidents are frequent, deadly, and complicated to litigate. Ensure your representation is the best or you may find your claims uncovered.
Considerations for Those Involved in a Tractor Trailer Accident
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reports that there were nearly 260 million vehicles registered in the United States in 2013. Just over 2.5 million (less than 1 percent) of the vehicles on our nation 's roadways were tractor trailers. Yet, twelve percent of the 30,000 fatal crashes involved one of these big rigs and another 7 percent (nearly 370,000) of crashes involved non-fatal injuries as a result of a run-in with a tractor trailer. Semi-trucks also accounted for 10 percent of the non-motorist fatalities
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This often leads to the shearing of the vehicle 's top and often the immediate death of the occupants. Even at very low speeds, the underride collision is one of the most deadly on the roadways.
All automobile, truck, and motorcycle collisions have the potential to bring about long-term physical and emotional injuries, medical costs, loss of employment, and a decrease in the ability to enjoy life. Yet, tractor trailer accidents are in a class of their own. Due to the massive size and weight of these vehicles, the potential injury and lasting effects are compounded. Making matters worse, the trucking industry is heavily regulated and involves myriad complex federal and state laws. Topping it off, the insurance industry adds their stirring stick to the already muddy water.
Standard of
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The law firm must not only understand the Federal Motor Carrier regulations, but they must know the specific state laws that come into play given the specific facts of the case. For example, in Georgia, there are limits on how long you have to make a claim or sue for damages resulting from a trucking accident. If you break the deadline, you may lose any rights you may have had to recover damages even if there were severe injuries or loss of life.
Adding to the complexity, truck companies are only required to keep their records for a certain amount of time. If you act beyond their retention policy, they will have deleted or destroyed the records you need for your case, such as drivers logs, maintenance data, testing records, and safety information. On average, the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Regulations only required data be kept for six months. If you act quickly, your lawyers can get the courts to order the company to preserve and present numerous records that may otherwise have been